J.R. Gonzales

At a time when Allied forces destroyed more than 100 enemy planes in Europe and Japanese Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto was killed over the Pacific, one of the deadliest days in this area’s aviation history took place in northern Harris County. Seven people were killed on May 20, 1943, when their B-25C bomber crashed in a […]
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If you’re willing to act fast, the former home of Sig Byrd — one of the best writers to walk the streets of this city — can potentially be yours for $400,000. From the 1940s through the early 1960s, the reporter-columnist covered our city for the Chronicle, Post and Press. Today, Byrd is known mostly […]
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The Texas Historical Commission has put an annual call out for suggestions for state historical markers. The agency does this under its Undertold Marker Program. It’s meant to address historical gaps in Texas history and promote a diversity of topics. More information and an application to submit to the THC can be found here. (Note, […]
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Here is one of the best photos of Houston’s past I’ve seen this week. Hey, I’m usually good at pointing out excellent photos in our archive. Remember this one, for example? Anyway, this photo, looking south from the Main Street bridge, was probably taken in the late 1950s. Possibly 1958. Anyone who follows Houston history […]
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On April 15, 1984, Eurythmics brought their blend of British synth-soul to the University of Houston’s Cullen Auditorium. The Houston Chronicle’s Michael Spies reviewed the show for its next day’s editions and Ben DeSoto photographed the concert. (At the same time, the paper’s Marty Racine was at the Billy Joel concert at the Summit.) Spies […]
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A photo of the Houston skyline comes this way from a village in Finland. A few years ago, reader Saara Roovers was given this poster of Houston that was on display in her school in Kurkimaki, in south central Finland, in the mid-1960s. No one knows why or exactly when the photo was put on […]
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This has to be the oddest Astros photo I’ve ever seen. It appeared on the front page of the April 12, 1965, Houston Post. On that day, the Astros opened the season — complete with a new name and an air conditioned home field — against the Phillies. Up on the so-called “Astrorocket” were starters […]
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I could slap myself for letting March 20 get away from me without mention. It was on that date in 1964 that — after 52 years in business, the last few operating at a loss — the Houston Press closed. Anyone familiar with the triumvirate of this city’s major daily newspapers knows the Houston Press […]
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